What Are You Waiting For?
by BaSingTei
Summary: Dancing can be solo, in a group, or more intimately with another person. A touch of a hand here. The curve of a back and the dip of a partner. It doesn't take much to fall in love when dancing, but it takes a while to learn how to dance. The Paladins learn to Waltz for an upcoming event and Lance and Keith are dancing partners, learning how to play nice. Maybe a little too nice.
1. Chapter 1

After several months as Paladins, they had all become very familiar with large galas and other diplomatic situations. However, none of those required dancing as part of the deal.

"What do you mean _learn_?" Hunk asked. "I'm just not so good with choreography, okay?"

"Hunk, please. You all need to learn this Altean dance." Allura pressed. "It's a formal ball thrown in honor of you. Of all of you. Of Voltron. Of everything you stand for in the universe. Shouldn't that be enough of a motivator to try?" She asked and looked to the group around her. A long silence followed until Pidge raised her hand.

"Yes Pidge?"

"Princess, if the ball in our honor… shouldn't we dance like humans?"

"Pidge! Yes! I agree with Pidge!" Lance said, pointing in her direction.

"Pidge I'm sorry, but Lance has demonstrated plenty of your dancing and none of it is…" She tried to think of a way too sexual or silly. "…up to par for such an event."

"He's an idiot and that's not dancing." Keith said coldly and just as Lance opened his mouth to retort, Shiro came between them. He cleared his throat and grabbed Allura's attention.

"Princess, on Earth we had formal dances complete with wonderful music and appropriate movements. I know this is an important event, but we're humans-" He side glanced Keith, giving him an inclusive look "-from Earth. Shouldn't the universe know what type of beings we are? What we're like?"

She paused and folded her hands in front of her, debating. Shiro stepped a little closer to her and spoke with less authority and more tenderness.

"Princess, I know you want to teach us this dance. I know you want to continue Altean culture. But we're way out here, trillions of miles from home, and no one seems to know what humans even are."

"It just makes since to even out the playing field a bit." Pidge added.

Allura sighed and looked to the paladins.

"I want to see this dance from Earth. If it's appropriate, we'll go forward with your dance. If not, we do this the Altean way." She paused and smiled. "So, who will demonstrate?"

Lance raised his hand and Shiro lowered it immediately with a stern "No". Looking around to the others Shiro sighed, not realizing any of them didn't know formal dances, himself included.

"Guys, really?" Pidge said loudly. All heads snapped toward her.

"Do you know how to?" Keith asked, shocked.

"I know a lot of dances." She started to tick on her fingers. "Tango, Waltz, Foxtrot-"

"Where did you learn to Waltz?" Lance asked, eyes wide in surprise. Pidge grinned.

"I did a lot of things on Earth you don't know about."

Hunk shook his head. "And I here I thought we knew everything about each other. I let you in my head hole and everything."

"It doesn't matter. Can you teach us?" Allura interrupted the banter. Pidge had the equivalent of a record scratch in her head. She had a few seconds to reboot herself and think her way through this.

"Can we even get music from Earth out here?" Shiro asked, trying to help her along.

"Can it not be to Altean music?" Allura asked, feeling a little hurt that her music wasn't good enough.

"Well it works best with the music written for the dance." Pidge finally said, her brain coming back online.

"Oh! It's a special choreography and song pairing? Interesting!" Allura beamed.

"No, it's not like that exactly. There are specific pieces of music categorized as Waltzes. We need those pieces…" She thought for a moment and perked up when she got an idea. "Lance! Give me your phone."

Everyone looked to Lance and he raised his eyebrow.

"First off, how do you know I still have that thing and second, I can guarantee you there is no classical music in my library."

"No shit." Keith laughed as Lance dug out his phone from his pocket.

"Rude! What do you listen to, the sound of the smallest violin to drown your emo sorrows in?!"

"It's better than that stupid euro-pop trash you listen to, I know that! We share a wall!"

"Wanna go mullet?!"

"Guys! Phone!" Pidge yelled and they looked to her, breaking their feud so Lance could walk over to her and hand her the silver device. She sat in her chair on the bridge and plugged the phone into her laptop. She took a moment to side eye Lance. "FYI, your snapchat story is horrible."

"What? I thought those were just going out to the void of space! Wait." He paused and looked back at her with narrow eyes. "You've been watching this whole time? You have your phone still? How are you watching?"

"I rigged the ship's long range communications to sync up to the wifi back at the Garrison." She said while messing with her laptop. Lance was a mess.

"We've online this whole time?!"

"Lance, please." Allura interrupted, turning to Pidge. "Why do you need this device from him?"

"If I can get wifi out here, I have access to basically all of human knowledge - including an infinite music library."

They all paused and Hunk cleared his throat. "You know they can track torrents, right?"

Pidge turned her head so fast Hunk was surprised she wasn't injured.

"Do you really think the FBI can get out here to arrest me? Besides," she smirked and turned back to computer, connecting the laptop to the side panel of her chair, "My IP address is the same as the International Space Station so if they really want to peruse poor isolated astronauts trying to stay in touch with the rest of humanity it's no skin off my nose." She tapped away at her laptop in silence and sat up straight. "There." She reached up to the control panel floating in front of her and a video came up on the main screen for everyone to see. It was a video of a waltz tutorial with different examples of the actual dance in action, including the Vietnamese Ball.

"Nice work Pidge." Shiro said, at her side and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You hacked into YouTube from billions of miles away…" Hunk said in amazement while he and Keith shared a mischievous glance.

"2,000,000+ hits. Nice." Lance commented, folding his arms.

"This will be our teacher. I'm downloading this into my laptop and backing it up into the ship's system. It's a small file and you wouldn't believe the ship's capacity." She tapped a few more keys on her laptop and unplugged lance's phone, tossing it to him. He panicked and dived for it, catching it just in time.

"Hey! What if this thing broke and you needed wifi again?" He said while getting off the floor.

"Oh I copied your MAC, ID, and SN off your MIMO and installed it onto my laptop and the ship's mainframe. The ship is now a flying phone with wifi. Should be good enough for us, considering that's all we have."

"Why didn't you just use your phone to copy all that stuff?" Lance said with a pout, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

"I wanted to make sure I could do it without corrupting the phone's receiver." Lance's mouth fell open in a mix of rage and shock while Keith slapped his chin shut with a satisfying smack and a laugh.

Allura was absolutely transfixed by the dance that everyone was ignoring. Coran made a comment to her that it reminded him of a dance he had done when he was much younger with the royal court back on Mo'orea. She smiled with her blue and pink eyes wide.

"This dance is beautiful. So simple but refined! I'm impressed." She said, turning to the paladins.

"So… is it approved?" Shiro asked.

"Yes. This is a wonderful display of human culture. We'll all have to learn it together. We can use the training deck for practice. Training is not a priority for the next several quintants."

"That's unlike you." Pidge said with a smirk. Allura gave her a tiny glare.

"I haven't attended a ball in over 10,000 years. I will not let sloppy dancing ruin that."

They all turned their attention to the video and were lost in thought for a few minutes before the video started to loop.

"We should all get some rest," Shiro suggested. "I'm sure we are expected to be up bright and early to dance." Everyone took his tone as dismissive. As everyone left, Lance complained that they could have chosen something more upbeat like a mambo and hunk rested a hand on his shoulder, Keith making a bad dancing joke.

In the morning everyone met in the training deck, the room not nearly as full as they thought it would be with all seven of them there. Pidge pulled up the video on the screen in the training room. She stood next to it and adjusted her glasses, looking nervous.

"So I know I said that the video would teach you guys but I think I might need to physically help you too. We all learn differently."

"Pidge you just don't want to do this." Lance said with a frown. She huffed.

"Regardless of my feelings, I actually know how to dance, _Lance_. So shut up and pair up."

Coran and Allura paired, Hunk and Shiro paired, which left-

"Hey! I will do this but not with him!"

"Shut up and just learn the stupid dance." Keith said through his teeth.

"No way hothead! I'm not having someone with no rhythm lead me in a dance."

"Actually Lance, you're the lead." Pidge said with a small grin.

"What?" Keith squeaked and she shrugged.

"This dance works better when the tallest person is the lead."

"Pidge, an inch? Does that really count?" Keith complained. Lance was putting his hand on Keith's head and following it straight over to his head.

"I'm counting at least three inches, but hey, size doesn't matter right?" Keith swatted away his hand and looked over to his team.

"Hunk! Trade me!" He yelled like a child.

"Sorry guys, I'm taller than both of you and I am not a good dancer. Shiro is the only one taller than me so and I need a lead."

"Paladins! Please stop this arguing. I thought you were all past this. Just learn the dance now and you can dance with whoever you want at the ball." Allura pleaded.

"Fine." Keith and Lance said at the same time, frowns to match. Pidge took in a breath.

"Okay. Leads, take your left hand and grasp your partner's right hand. Then put your right arm around your partner's shoulders while they put their left hand on top of your shoulder." She said brightly and she was met with lost eyes and blank faces. She sighed and came up to Shiro, the nearest person, and placed their hand where she had just said, stretching her arms due to her short stature.

"Do this." Everyone shared a nod and she sighed, letting go of Shiro for Hunk to take her place. She stood next to the video playing over on a loop.

"So like the video says, just do the left box for now and as you get better we will learn how to move around a room."

Pidge watched as they all came together slowly. The Altean pair moved easily, as if dancing was second nature to them despite the origin of the dance. She supposed that was one reason their race had been so good a building intergalactic relationships; adaptability. Hunk was clumsy but Shiro was kind, reassuring him patiently while trying to lead him. Keith and Lance however were not moving quite as well. Their dancing was choppy, almost angry. Like a battle. Their faces looked angry from where she stood and she knew they were lost causes.

In reality, emotions very different and deeper were warring in them. For Lance the best word for it was embarrassment. No one on the ship had ever seen Lance date a guy or even show affection or flirt with one. When he was around pretty aliens, he always flirted with the females. He was and always had been bisexual, but he felt like everyone forgot about it unless he brought it up. And when it was brought up, it was like he was trying to prove something that he didn't have to prove. So having to be this close to another guy would normally fluster him - but this was Keith. The guy who in the beginning of all this went from hating him to being completely indifferent to him. The guy who brought out his worst side. The guy who made him so competitive it was shameful. The same guy who he has grown to be to friends with. Keith. Who was now in his arms, trying to learn a fairly simple dance with great difficulty. Lance was a natural dancer, he just needed to see it a few times to get it right.

Keith on the other hand was not coordinated at all outside of battle. More than once Lance had to catch him when he stumbled. Keith was humiliated that Lance was the one who was leading him, getting his feet stepped on by Lance when he failed to go fast enough or missed a step. Although Lance didn't say anything other than a few directional cues, Keith never made eye contact with him. He knew Lance was staring at him, he could feel it. But the stare felt judgmental and so, because of the ocean of negative emotions threatening to drown him, he kept his gaze to the floor and their feet.

They had both lost count of how many boxes they had done before Pidge was talking again. Keith guessed it had been a lot because his neck was aching.

"I think you guys got the general idea down. You guys made a lot of progress today. We'll do more tomorrow."

Keith was relieved but Allura spoke up.

"Pidge we've barely started and the ball is just quintants away."

"You and Coran are natural dancers and did so well that you don't need this part anymore. The rest of us need some rest before we try again tomorrow. Rome wasn't built in a day." Allura gave her a blank look and Pidge rolled her eyes. "Just get some rest. We've been doing this the majority of the day. Food, shower, sleep, back here tomorrow."

They all nodded and parted ways, Hunk and Shiro sharing a joke on the way out. Lance and Keith separated and he turned to exit with the others. When he didn't feel Keith's presence behind him, he turned to see Keith rooted to the floor, eyes averted from the group. The whooshing of the door closed leaving him and Keith alone.

"Hey, we're leaving." Lance said to try and snap him back to reality. Keith looked up at him with such a pained yet harbored expression that Lance didn't know what to say.

"Dude, what's wrong?"

Keith's heartbeat was in his throat and now he was ready to push all of his emotions into one - anger. He narrowed his eyes at Lance and started to walk towards and past him.

"I'm fine."

Lance caught his arm as he passed and Keith was quick to rip out of his grasp, his gait halting.

"Keith… it's just a stupid dance. You'll get better, I promise."

"It's not the fucking dance."

There was a tense pause and Lance had to resist the urge to ball his fists.

"Then what's the problem, because I was being pretty damn patient."

"You were staring at me the whole time." Keith said, looking up at him as if his unspoken words were clear.

"That's how you dance, idiot."

Keith ignored his voice and walked away, leaving him in a cloud of fury and confusion. When he got to his room he punched the wall with a loud yell, suddenly breathing heavily. He kept replaying the feeling of Lance's eyes on him over and over. How stupid he must have looked and every little mistake he made. His silence and small but caring cues. Lance's hands on his body a little lower than directed because he couldn't keep his balance. Lance pulling him closer than beginner-level dancers do to move Keith's body in sync with his own, fighting the sudden urge to be even closer. Feeling like Lance also made a mental note of every mistake, every trip, and every time he messed up to use against him somehow. It was infuriating. Keith didn't like someone to have an upper hand on him and Lance being that person was the worst possible situation for him.

He unraveled his fist to lay his hand flat against the wall, pressing his forehead against the cool metal as the small vibrations from the ship echoed in his skull. He let out a shaky breath and tried to sort out his feelings with logic like Shiro had told him so many times. Why was he so angry? Lance had plenty of chances to make fun of him, but he hadn't. He could have made snide remarks at anytime, but he didn't. If anything his hands on Keith's back and in his palm had been reassuring. So was this even about Lance? He sighed, almost a growl as he banged his head against the wall. Of course this was about Lance. Everything was recently. He was who Keith thought about when his chaotic brain was idle. He thought about his dumb smirk when Keith was alone and thought of a joke. He saw Lance's face every night before he slipped into the world of dreams. And what was scariest was when ever either of two was injured in any way, the protectiveness seemed to be a two way street. He knew any other member of the team would protect any other just as quick, but for Keith the thought of Lance not surviving because _he_ couldn't get there in time tore at him.

He sighed again and pulled away from the wall to shrug off his jacket and slip off his boots. When his hand gripped the heel of his boot he felt the ache in his knuckles. He frowned and sat on his bed when his jacket and boots were on the floor and took off his right glove. His knuckles closest to his thumb were purple and swollen. He shook his head and let his hand fall into his lap. He knew how to punch without hurting himself. He knew better. But when his emotions bubbled over, he had very little control over his actions. He exhaled a laugh, thinking it was something that probably made him and Red a great pair in the first place. He looked up to the wall and sure enough there was a sizable dent in his wall. He felt stupid. Lance made him feel stupid. And angry. And comforted. And calm. And confused. And emotions he didn't want to even mentally admit.

He lay back on his bed and started at the bunk above him, resting his swollen hand on his chest after putting his glove back on. Keith was like that for an unknown amount of time. Like the sun setting on Earth, his room dimmed so slowly he didn't realize it was dark until his thoughts came back to him. He looked around and his room was only lit at 15%. He couldn't believe he had there for the rest of the evening with his mind completely empty. He had either meditated on accident or possibly broke his own brain. A sudden knock came at his door making his hair stand on end. He might have jumped if he weren't so exhausted.

"Yeah." It wasn't a question, just a dry invitation to enter. The door slid open Lance came into his room, in his shirt and jeans and apparently roaming the ship with just socks on. The door slid closed and Keith was silent in the dark.

"Sorry, were you sleeping? It's so dark in here." He said softly.

"No just thinking." He paused and spoke clearer. "Lights, 75%." The room obeyed him and slowly brightened up the room. Keith looked to lance and sat up, seeing a silver object in his hands. Lance followed his gaze and looked down at the small covered tray.

"Oh, you uh… you skipped dinner. I just thought… you might be hungry." He said, sounding nervous. Keith heard and couldn't imagine why he would be nervous. Lance looked to his right and saw the huge dent in the wall.

"Shit. What happened? Get in a fight with your boots?" He laughed but Keith's blank expression didn't change. He sighed. "Anyway, here's your food." He handed it to Keith who instinctively reached for it with his right hand. When the weight was released into his hand the blinding pain made him drop the tray with a loud clatter. He looked down at his hand, more swollen and purple than earlier, the dark coloring bleeding down into his fingers. Lance looked over everything and came closer to Keith's hand. He tried to tell Lance to go away but his words never came out, Lance sitting on the bed beside him. After a beat he reached for the strap of Keith's glove.

"Don't." Keith said so softly, not very convincing. Lance only paused for a moment before slipping his glove off. Keith let out a sigh of shame and relief, the glove had actually been restricting the blood flow to his hand. Lance inspected his hand and his brows knit together.

"We should get you to a healing pod." He didn't ask what happened or why, he just went straight to a solution - something he had been doing a lot of recently. Keith was stubborn as ever though.

"I'll be fine."

"Keith your hand is broken. No matter how Galra you are, that's a broken hand for sure. The swollenness and the red marks give it away."

He ripped his hand out of Lance's grasp and though it hurt he refused to show it.

"Lance, it'll heal. Don't worry about it."

"It won't heal overnight and we have things to do like dancing and possibly an emergency Voltron formation. Just let me take you to a pod. You'll be fixed in like two hours tops."

"Lance just stop." Keith was looking at the floor, his room a mess with splattered food and a broken plate. Lance still had his glove and set it on one of his boots. He was quiet, trying to find another solution. He felt like this was his fault somehow - like always.

"What is wrong?" He asked Keith, each spoken with care, curiosity, and urgency for an answer. Keith huffed and slumped his shoulders, refusing to answer.

"Either you tell me why you broke your hand on the wall or you let me take you to a pod - and I can carry you there if you don't pick one."

Keith knew he could and that this wasn't an empty threat. He chose the lesser of two evils and stood slowly, making sure his hand was protected and held to his middle. Lance stood and walked with him through the ship to the pod bay silently. When they reached the bay Lance stepped ahead of him to pull a pod up and open it. Keith stepped inside and watched Lance push all sorts of buttons on the side.

"Where did you learn how to operate one of these?"

"Pidge. Coran helped too." He answered without looking up.

Keith nodded. Pidge had been such a valuable part of their team. He was glad she stayed. Lance looked up to him with an odd expression. Fear? He wasn't sure.

"So this thing says it will take about two and a half, maybe three hours. I think. Numbers are hard to read when they are spelled out. Just sit tight and take a nice nap, okay?" His words were so heavily drenched in concern the Keith was taken aback.

"Okay." He relied softly.

Lance pushed a button and the door closed, Keith instantly feeling tired and warm.

"I'll be here." He thought he heard Lance say but he couldn't be sure as he slipped away into the void. Darkness consumed him and he felt like he was floating. A cool sensation saturated his hand, like water from a pool, bottomless and never moving. It felt like he was in there for just a few minutes when suddenly the whooshing of the pod door snapped his eyes open, making him take in a gasp of air. Lance was in front of him, a small smile on his face.

"Sorry. It took three and a half hours. I guess I read it wrong."

Keith's mind was blurry but he tried to step forward, tripping. Lance caught him, like he had been doing all day and everything that had happened that day came flooding back to him instantly. It brought his mind into focus, his heart pounding and feeling stupid again. He tried to straighten himself but kept stumbling and tripping. Eventually he let lance half carry him back to his room.

"Where is everyone?" He asked, his voice weak, trying to distract from is pink cheeks.

"They've been asleep for hours."

Keith looked down and squinted.

"What time is it?"

"About 2am our time?" He said, a guestimate. He hadn't looked at a clock for a while now. They walked in silence and Lance opened the door for them when they reached Keith's room, dragging him to the bed and placing him down with care. Keith felt foggy again and looked around his room.

"What happened in here?"

"Oh… I cleaned up the food and the shrapnel and then put your boots and jacket where they usually are. I had time." He paused and pointed to the bed. "I got you some more food too. I know how hungry the pods made me, so I thought you would be too."

"Lance, what are you doing?"

It was an honest question but Lance didn't have an answer that didn't sound weird. He stuttered and tried but couldn't come up with anything but a red face.

"I guess I'll let you rest."

"Lance." Keith said a little harsher.

He sighed and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, face still red.

"I'm just trying to help."

Keith looked up at him, confused, and Lance tried to elaborate.

"You had a bad day. That dance took a lot of your concentration and I felt bad. I just wanted to help a friend out."

Keith's eyes widened. "Friend? I thought we were 'rivals'."

Lance's face went darker and he was a little annoyed.

" I thought we were passed all that. Fine, a teammate."

"No… friend is… nice." Just unexpected. So Lance thought of them as friends? That somehow changed everything and nothing for Keith at the same time. He had the faintest smile on his lips when Lance looked back to him. "Thanks." He said with an entirely new demeanor. Lance just nodded.

"Get some rest. I'd like my partner to be able to pay attention tomorrow without staring at the floor." He smiled wide and excused himself. When he was alone, Keith ate the food - still warm - and let his mind rest before laying down, empty tray on the floor. His mind was consumed with the fog again but he still saw Lance's face before he lost himself into a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Morning came too soon, Keith's eyes being assaulted by bright 80% lights. He screwed his eyes tight and turned towards the wall, his body feeling incredibly heavy. As his mind came into focus, he remembered the day and night previous. He sighed and convinced himself that the heaviness was an after effect to the healing pods. Just as he was getting comfortable again a loud pounding came at his door.

"Rise and shine Keith."

It was Shiro. He didn't ask to come in nor stay for a small conversation, just woke him with his cybernetic hand against the door and walked away. He opened his eyes slowly and blew a piece of messy hair out of his face. He couldn't remember his entire dream but he remembered Lance was there and that alone made him calmer. He slowly pulled up his hand to inspect it and it was perfectly normal. He hadn't looked at it last night when Lance brought him back to his room, but in the 'daytime' light of his room, it was as if nothing had ever happened. He made a mental note to thank him again with an action rather just saying it. He had gone above and beyond for him and it warmed something in Keith's heart.

He scolded himself as if to say _'okay, that's enough feeling for today. You've been awake for five minutes'_. He turned back to his room and slowly left the blankets, his body still feeling incredibly heavy. In time he sat up and realized his hair was sticking to his neck and just clumping in general. He needed a shower badly. So, even though everyone was waiting on him, he decided the shower was more important.

Just as he was about to get up he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He thought it was strange, an odd feeling that he hadn't felt in months. He pulled out his phone.

 **(Unknown)** Hey! Add this number It's Pidge. So glad I modified the ship to be able to text you guys. I'll send you everyone's numbers in another text but check out this site.

 **(Unknown) /waltz/pop/alternitive/2/47/list-of-100-songs/**

 **(Unknown)** It's a list of 100 songs you didn't know were Waltzes. I found one just for you! But you have to scavenge!

He shook his head and looked through the list, smiling at the songs he found. He knew quite a few of them but one in particular tugged on his heart, but not the one Pidge had thought would. It tugged at him because it was one of Lance's favorite songs. He smiled and then locked his phone, trying to drown out his brain and heart collaboratively screaming.

He went to the bathroom and took a long, hot, satisfying shower. He caught himself looking at his hand more than a few times, still not used to Altean medical technology. When he was dry, minus his hair, he dressed casually minus his jacket. After ruffling a towel through his hair he picked up his gloves and saw a large tear in his right glove.

"Great."

He tossed it back onto the bed. Not like he needed them, but they were a sort of security blanket. He combed out his bushy, damp hair and shoved his phone back into his pocket before leaving and heading to the kitchen. Yet again choosing to avoid his obligation. But Lance had been right. Even after the meal he was given last night he was starving again. He entered the kitchen to find it deserted without surprise. Keith grabbed something in a cabinet that he had come to learn was close to a protein bar and took his time. The flavor was dry, like oats and cardboard, but he knew it would fill him up for at least half the day.

After his second glass of water he sighed and decided to head to the training deck. He couldn't avoid him - it any longer. When the doors opened he was greeted with a few smiles, no one really caring that he was late. The group seemed smaller though.

"Where's Allura and Coran?"

"Oh, nice of you to join us." Pidge said and laughed a bit, watching Shiro spin Hunk around. "They have actually advanced passed all of you. They were so good that these two couldn't keep up so I've decided to teach them separately."

"Keith I'm actually getting good at this!" Hunk smiled and Shiro nodded, dipping him sideways a bit before laughing.

"Guys, no dipping yet." She smiled.

"Guess we can pick up where we left off." Lance said to him, standing on the other side of the room with his hands in his pockets. He didn't seem annoyed or even nervous. Which was everything Keith was feeling. Keith crossed the deck and Lance placed his hands on him so easily that it made him embarrassed, his hands clumsy before they were even moving. He knew they were just in for another day of basic steps and regret was spelled all over his face, looking up at Lance when he remembered his words last night - to stop looking at the floor.

"Relax, you got this." Lance said with an easy smile. That didn't make it easier for him. It actually made this whole thing worse. His pulse was racing faster than his thoughts and he was sure that if he had to stare at Lance like this the whole day he would explode.

And yet, off they went. Swaying and stepping in much better sync than yesterday, he only tripped once. Lance just said "You're okay" but it made his face go completely red and he looked down at the floor again. Lance was quiet for a bit before coming up with conversation to force eye contact.

"No jacket today?"

He hated Lance right now.

"I don't need it, we're dancing. You usually need less clothing." He said softly but he meant it to be curt. His tone dropped when he looked up at Lance and watched him grin at his poor word choice. He was sure a stripper joke was going to come out but instead he diverted.

"What about your gloves?" He gave his hand a small squeeze. "I don't think I've ever seen you without them. Not even at the Garrison." Lance, who didn't need to pay attention to their dance, looked over at his hand. "Pretty soft for a sword fighter."

Keith went red again but his face registered something short of anger and Lance laughed.

"Dude, relax. I'm kidding. I'm trying to get you to loosen up." Keith sighed and turned when guided.

"I know. I'm just not good at this kind of thing."

"I know, you're a shitty dancer. That's why I'm here." He laughed.

"No, I mean - never mind." He fumed, wrestling with himself.

Pidge interrupted them with instructions on how to move around a room while also doing the box. She deemed them ready and told them to just make sure they didn't bump into Shiro and Hunk who were twirling around the deck. They nodded and tried to move around the room, Lance leading them slowly. As it so happened, Keith clicked the movements and actually moving around the room together and a sudden fluid movement came from him. He chuckled a bit as he took another step with Lance and everything made so much more sense when actually moving.

"Oh this is so much better." Keith almost sighed and Lance laughed at him.

"I guess you can dance after all. Just not in place."

Keith would normally be annoyed at the comment but something about being able to move like water around the room felt so good he didn't care. There was a permanent grin on his face and for Lance it was like he was glowing. Lance blushed when Keith was laughing, each step and movement better than the last. He took the opportunity to let himself be relaxed, lips included.

"I lied."

Keith looked up to him in confusion, his movements only slightly altered.

"You still have the calluses of a trained fighter. The parts of your hands that are soft are the parts always covered in cloth like your palm and the back of your hand."

"God why are you like this?" He laughed, also getting such odd signals.

"I don't know." He laughed and moved Keith around the room.

"Do you always tell the girls you dance with what parts of them you prefer undressed?" Keith asked, a poking nature in his voice but Lance's face dropped a bit.

"I don't usually dance like this…" He said and took Keith's hand firmer in his own, trying to stay concentrated through his red face. Keith saw he may have crossed a line and kept quiet for the rest of the dance.

When Pidge told them to stop she looked over to Hunk and Shiro, giving them a pep talk for tomorrow. Lance was slow to let go on Keith's hand but did eventually, turning his attention to Pidge only at the mention of their names.

"You two have gotten much better! I think you can move onto dipping and spinning tomorrow with Shiro and Hunk."

"Fun." Lance said sincerely but it came out flat.

"Well, considering that didn't take all day maybe we can get some food and chill out for the rest of the day." Hunk suggested. Lance shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled.

"Sounds great!"

The four left together but split up. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge headed for the kitchen. Shiro headed for the bridge, no doubt looking for Allura. Keith was left to his own devices and mind in the training deck. His heart was still hammering in his chest, confused. He was getting such weird signals from Lance. One minute he was being annoyingly observant, the next he was being open and honest in a way that seemed vulnerable. And other times, even if Keith imagined it, he came off as flirty. Not the stupid façade he put on, but genuinely flirting with him. And that made no sense to him, no matter how happy his heart seemed to be. With so much confusion and loud arguing in his mind, he summoned his bayard.

"Begin training sequence, level 5."

He formed his red and white sword and took out his frustrations on a poor droid without a glimmer of an answer.

"You guys did really well! I know I said that earlier but it was a huge contrast in what happened yesterday." Pidge said with a happy smile, sitting on the table.

"Yeah well… situations can change you know?" Lance said softly, shoving green goo into his mouth. Pidge and Hunk exchanged a glance.

"What's that mean?" Hunk asked, lips covered in green.

He shrugged and closed his eyes.

"I just mean that Keith and I had a good talk and he's more willing to learn."

"What did you do, sit on him until he agreed to play nice?" Pidge laughed but dropped her cheer when Lance's features didn't change.

"He broke his hand." He said with his mouth full, not opening his eyes again. He was being rather reserved and it didn't sit well with either of them. "I helped him into a pod to fix his hand and I help him back to his room. I guess he's just going with the flow for now."

Pidge and Hunk looked to each other again and realized they weren't getting anything else from him. They finished their food in silence and left, off to try and alter the ship's screens to pop into everyone's rooms. Lance sat at the table alone, trying to sort himself.

He remembered how much more fluid Keith had moved when they advanced to moving around the room. It was like a putting a new chain on a bike. He moved new and with precision he hadn't expected from someone who 'couldn't dance'. Keith could dance. Just not like Lance could. He could do classical dances, which suited him considering they had planned movements and a purpose for each movement. Aside from that, Lance couldn't get the picture of their hands together out of his mind. Had Keith's skin always been that pale? Callused fingers and smooth palms, all a silky cream. Lance groaned in frustration and let his head hit the table. Friends? Yeah right. Good way to cover up your feelings. With a blatant lie. So now what? Grab him by the waist and dip him to the floor, like a good friend? He banged his head against the table and seriously considered asking Pidge for a change in partners.

As for flirting, what the hell was he even doing? If he hadn't gotten far by now, what good would it do to be so open and blunt like that? He kept banging his head on the table, wishing it hurt more. Nothing in the world hurts more than an unrequited love and he knew that first hand, his chest caving in just remembering the other times. And this time, he had it so bad he wasn't sure how he was ever going to recover. Granted, be was by no means suicidal, but physical pain did give him something to think about outside the blinding pain inside his chest, even it was brief.

"Lance?"

He stopped and turned to ice, looking up and seeing Keith drenched in sweat. Had he been training? The neck, chest, and abdomen of his shirt were soaked. How hard had he gone on the deck? And honestly a sweaty Keith was the last thing he needed right now.

"What are you doing?" Keith asked and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Distracting myself. What about you, why were you training?"

"Distracting myself." He mirrored, his breathing still labored. "I got hungry again. How long have you been in here?"

"I dunno, how long have Pidge and Hunk been tinkering on the bridge?"

"An hour or so?"

Lance groaned and leaned back in his chair, a pounding headache encapsulating his thought process.

"You can't be doing that. It's just as bad as breaking a hand." Keith smiled and rifled through the dishes and goop dispenser. Lance didn't look at him until he took a seat across from him. He was breathing a little slower but downed an entire glass of water before having to get another. When he sat down this time, Lance was a little more prepared.

"Training is a better alternative to punching the ship. Or trying to break the table in half with your head." He said with a mouth full, pointing his spoon at Lance's forehead. It was reddish-purple, a bruise forming. Lance huffed and looked down.

"Yeah well, I haven't found my alternative yet. If Shiro isn't in the training deck it's you. And if the hanger isn't empty, you're in there so I can't talk to Blue and there's not much to do in my room. I wish there was a track here."

"You could always go swimming." He offered sincerely.

"That just reminds me of Matanzas and it makes me homesick. Not what I need."

Keith put his spoon down and swallowed.

"Why do you need to be so distracted?"

"Why do you?"

Keith frowned and found they were at a stalemate. Keith sighed and looked down at his food.

"Look, I'm just trying to help. Like you helped me last night. I'm more of a physical person but you're more…" He was trying to find a word that wasn't insulting.

"Touchy-feely?" Lance added sourly. Keith shrugged.

"All I know is that you deal with things differently than I do. So maybe you should talk about it."

Lance paused to see if he was really reaching out to him. Yes he was a loudmouth, but he did need someone to talk to who could actually talk back and not just feed ideas into their mind, no offense to Blue.

"I guess my brain is going in a certain direction-correction, _**has**_ gone in a certain direction, and I don't want to deal with what it's putting me through so I'm trying to get a distraction and the harder I try the louder my brain gets with this 'direction' and it's killing me man."

"Heavy." Keith said softly.

"Yeah." He sighed and put his head back on the table. "What about you? You never told me last night but honestly I think you were too angry to talk about it."

Keith ate the last bits of his food, the sounds of a spoon against an empty plate filing the air. He put his spoon down and sighed.

"I guess my problem isn't much different than yours. I'm trying to fight against my thoughts and it's not going so well."

"So what advice would you give yourself?"

Keith exhaled through his nose in a laugh. Lance turned his head to rest on his cheek.

"I guess I just keep telling my brain to shut the fuck up and drop it and we've seen how well that worked."

Lance laughed softly and closed his eyes.

"We're two pathetic peas in a pod aren't we?"

"I guess so." He said with a smile and got up to put his dishes away. He was going to sit back down at the table but he didn't feel like he was going to get anything else out of Lance. He felt bad that something so heavy was plaguing him.

"Are you sure I can't help?" He said and the heaviness of caring in his voice made Lance sit up straight. He smiled sadly.

"I don't think so bud."

Lance stood and walked around the table to go and maybe see what Pidge and Hunk were doing. Keith put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, I know something that will cheer you up at least. Come with me."

Lance turned a bit pink but nodded and followed him. They found themselves back at the training deck and Keith walked over to the control panel, tapping a few things to make a screen came up. It was YouTube. Lance was about to ask what he was doing when he typed in one of Lance's favorite songs. He let the song run and came up to Lance, placing his hands so Keith was the lead.

"Are you kidding me? This isn't a dancing song."

"It is though. Pidge found a whole bunch of songs that are Waltzes and I know you like this one because you blare her through my wall regularly."

"Aw that's sweet, you remember my favorite artists."

Keith blushed. "Shut up and dance. Besides, I need to learn how to lead too."

They moved smoothly and both of them blushed, Lance knowing the song in and out, knowing why he was always listening to it.

 _'Some people live for the fortune. Some people live for just the fame. Some people live for the power. Some people live just to play the game.'_

The lyrics rambled on and Lance couldn't take his eyes off Keith, leading with ease. He spun them around and twirled Lance out, away from him, and back slowly, not completely knowing the move yet. It was still impressive. Lance laughed and mumbled the lyrics along with the song.

 _'If ain't you baby, if I ain't got you baby.'_

They danced out the remaining of the song and Lance sang the lyrics softly, loving the song, but also feeling the pain in the love drenched words, knowing his heart was aching though his face was smiling. Keith couldn't help but smiling at him. He seemed so happy or at least better off even it was a small amount. He was lost, watching his smile and his lips mold around the lyrics. He wasn't in control anymore and he wasn't even aware.

At the end of the song Keith dipped him back, strong enough to hold him just fine without a hint of a tremble in his arm and Lance laughed.

"I thought we weren't ready for dips?" Lance asked, his face red without a care.

"I thought I could try it out." He said and smiled down at him.

There was an odd pause where another song came on after that one and they both realized they couldn't hear a thing, just staring at each other.

"God I hate you." Lance said and laughed. Before Keith could come up with an answer for even register what he had just said, Lance grabbed his shirt and pulled his face down to his, giving him a quick but harsh kiss. It surprised Keith so much that he dropped him, Lance's hand fisted in his shirt still which brought him down on top of him. He caught himself and his hands were on either side on Lance, looking down at him, face red as his jacket that was corridors away. He wasn't angry or even annoyed. He didn't know what he was. Lance just lay on the floor and looked up at him with a dumb smile.

"Did I break your brain?" He said with a smug grin. The silence stretched on, Keith trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

"See, what's you're supposed to do now is," He reached over and grabbed Keith's right hand, forming it into a fist. "And then you slug me across the face. Okay?" He said, all with a face that clearly registered he wasn't there. Which he wasn't. Even though there was a dire cost, Keith now not only knew how he felt but he was kissed roughly to prove it.

Just as his fist came near his face, he unraveled his hand and cupped Lance's cheek, surprising the both of them.

"That's not a punch Keith."

He leaned down with closed eyes and kissed Lance much softer and lovingly than he had kissed Keith, his hand holding his face to his softly. Lance was in heaven. He kissed back with a subtle heat, trying his best to hold back. It was so hard. He didn't know what this was but he wanted it. It took a few second put he pulled away with a smile.

"No shit." He laughed and leaned up, offering a hand to him. Lance took it and they both stood, another random song starting in the background. With his ears suddenly working he turned to the screen and watched as he heard the song.

"What's this?" Keith asked, his brain a little scrambled.

"Oh, it's uh… it's called 'Colors'. It's really good."

"I've heard this before…" he said as the chorus came in. He walked closer to the screen and tried to remember. Lance came up behind him and slid his hand into his, making it harder to think.

"I like to play music in my room a lot. You probably heard it from me." Lance said softly. Keith nodded after hearing the word 'blue' a few times.

"Yeah you do. This is nice though."

"I like the bridge the best…" Lance said and smiled.

Keith waited for it when he heard the word 'red' he turned to Lance, watching him the whole time. Lance rubbed the back of his neck, his face turning dark again. When the song continued Keith looked down at their hands and smiled.

"I like this song." He paused and reached his hand up to turn off the screen. "I like purple too." He answered an unasked question and Lance was smiling again. Keith turned back to him and came close to him, his own deep purple eyes wide. "It's a good color."

Keith cupped his cheek again and his thumb a thumb traced this bottom lip. Lance was about to lean in and kiss him again before his mouth ran.

"So you like my music?"

Keith dropped his hand and rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"We were having a bonding moment! You ruined it. You know I hate your music!"

"Clearly not all of it!"

"Seriously why are you like this Lance?"

"Maybe I'm too purple." He said and tugged his shirt so that Keith was closer to him. He just rolled his eyes.

"So what now?" Lance asked after silence. Keith looked back to him and although a part of him was relieved, he was trembling with anxiety.

"Well we're not friends. That's clear."

"We're not boyfriends are we?"

"Not that I would mind but I don't think a few kisses classify as boyfriends." Keith thought a little and gripped the hand that was pulling him by his shirt. "We are some weird place in between and we've gotta figure out where to go."

"Keith…" he said and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know we had the stupid rivalry and it kind of made me obsessed with you and I grew out of the rivalry part but not the obsessive part-"

"Okay, getting creepy."

Lance rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to say that I like you. A lot. Close to love actually. But that's not that rational because we don't have a whole lot to go on for our relationship."

"That's okay I feel the same." He laughed a bit.

"What's so funny?"

"Just that I think about you a lot too. I guess I'm a bit obsessed myself."

"That's okay though, how could you not be obsessed with this?" He gestured to himself. Keith groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I'm pretty sure the universe is playing a practical joke on me." He said and rubbed the sides of his own face.

"If it is, it's a pretty elaborate prank to make two people fall in love with each other."

"Hey, I never said I loved you."

Lance's face went blank and he took Keith by the shirt and pinned him against the wall. Keith gasped a bit and went red, looking up at him with wide eyes. Lance laughed and let go.

"You don't even have to, I can see it on your face." He walked towards the training deck door and stopped when Keith yelled at him.

"You are such an ass sometimes!" He said with his hands fisted at his sides.

"And so are you. See you tomorrow for more dancing." He smirked and left Keith alone to process.


	3. Chapter 3

It took Pidge and Hunk a few hours, but late into the night, Shiro, Lance, and Keith got a text message.

Text to: Shiro, Lance, Keith

 _12:03 am_ **(Pidge)** Hey! You can bring up the screens in your rooms now! Use the control panel by the door to turn the whole system on or off. It's the button that used to be the manual light switch but we all use voice recognition anyways for that or just auto mode. Once activated, you can use the screens the same way we do on the bridge. If you want to send a video to someone or somewhere just swipe it to the left and options will come up like our rooms and the training deck and such. Basically the whole network I set up. Allura and Coran aren't on it yet, I have to get their permission considering I already hacked the castle enough.

 _12:06 am_ **(Lance)** Yes! Finally I can WATCH Lemonade!

 _12:08 am_ **(Keith)** That's cool.

 _12:14 am_ **(Shiro)** Do you guys ever sleep?

 _12:15 am_ **(Pidge)** No.

 _12:15 am_ **(Lance)** No

 _12:15 am_ **(Keith)** You're one to talk

 _12:19 am_ **(Shiro)** Okay point taken. But no more group texts in the middle of the night. Especially not essays. Pidge.

 _12:20 am_ **(Pidge)** :)

Keith smiled and locked his phone after deleting the group text. He had already added all the numbers from earlier, glad names came up rather than random numbers. Barely a few seconds went by and he heard a woman's voice speaking in a low, firm voice through his shared wall. He wondered what show Lance could possibly be watching. As the speaking faded, he heard a loud "Holy shit!" through the wall, followed by the sound of rushing water. A pause followed and a beat came in, Lance turning his screen on full volume as the lyrics began.

" _Hold up, they don't love you like I love you. Slow down, they don't love you like I love you. Back up, they don't love you like I love you. Step down, they don't love you like I love you. Can't you see - there's no other man above you? What a wicked way to treat the girl who loves you. Hold up, they don't love you like I love you. Hold on, they don't love you like I love you."_

Keith rolled his eyes and texted him.

 **Keith:** What on earth could that be. *sarcasm*

 **Lance:** Don't even joke. I have been dying babe. DYING without this in my life.

Keith blushed at Lance's casual nickname but remembered that he had been kissing that boy just hours ago. With no response from Keith, Lance filled the void.

 **Lance:** Here, experience this with me.

Keith rolled his eyes and got up to activate his network, the button next to the door already blinking. He pressed it went back to his bed.

Suddenly a screen popped in front of his face, blinking and waiting for him to push it. He tapped at the air in the middle of the screen and a beautiful woman appeared in a mustard colored dress, wielding a bat over her shoulder as she walked through a neighborhood with colorful buildings and shops. He smirked and watched the video, hearing it echo from Lance's room too.

 **Keith:** Not gonna lie she's pretty badass. Just not my type of music.

He watched the video to the end to humor Lance and smiled when it was over, taping his screen to pause it so another didn't start.

 **Lance:** Then what DO you like?

Keith thought about it for a few minutes. He wanted to share a song that he liked, but not something he knew Lance would be expecting. He typed a song into the search and found what he was looking for. It was just music over a red and black album cover but it would work. He sent it over to him while turning up the volume to enjoy it.

 **Keith:** This.

" _Show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time. And turning all against the one - its an art that's hard to teach. Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd. And as you get back in line a mob jumps to their feet. Now dance, fucker dance. Man, he never had a chance. And no one even knew it was really only you._ _And now you steal away. Take him out today. Nice work you did. You're gonna go far, kid. With a thousand lies. And a good disguise. Hit 'em right between the eyes. Hit 'em right between the eyes. When you walk away. Nothing more to say. See the lightning in your eyes. See 'em running for their lives."_

 **Lance:** Wow this actually doesn't suck! 💕

Keith smiled as they finished the song together. His phone vibrated again.

 **Lance:** My turn!

 **Keith:** Is that what we're doing?

 **Lance:**...

 **Lance:** Why not?

Keith shook his head. This boy was going to kill him.

 **Keith:** Okay

Lance took him time but soon a picture of a naked woman in grayscale came up on his screen. Her hands were over her chest and core but there wasn't much to the imagination. He was about to ask Lance what the hell he was doing but then he realized, as music started to play, it was just the album cover. He felt stupid and blushed, listening to the beat and the lyrics.

" _Yo no, se porque te quiero - no entiendo. Que soy, I'm a little mad-and-crazy-for-your-love. Sueño, sueño con tus besos. Todo el tiempo, I'm so taken by the way-you-make-me-lose-control. We're from different worlds, I know. Pero sí esta bien contigo amor._ _Dale let's go dancing all this love! Baby hablando in spanglish. Let's not focus on the words, baby besame un poquito ven. Breaking down the language barrier. Baby hablando in spanglish."_

Keith liked the beat but was extremely curious. He took out his phone and looked up the complete English translation of the song. He turned red and texted Lance immediately.

 **Keith:** Dude! You can't just spring that on me!

 **Lance:** I have no idea what you're talking about ;) I love this song.

 **Keith:** Lance, this is like a Spanish version of Usher's Yeah!

 **Lance:** Okay 1 - impressed that you know that song

 **Lance:** 2 - no! This song is much sweeter! I could probably find a really dirty spanish song no problem if you want tho ;)

 **Keith:** No thanks.

 **Lance:** How about a dirty Korean song?

 **Keith:** /NO!/

It was too late. Sirens were going off in a song and the screen was littered with beautiful guys drenched in saturated backgrounds.

" _She got me going crazy."_

 **Keith:** Stop omg.

" _Wae sim, jang, i, ttwini?"_

The longer he listened to the song the hotter his face felt. He was extremely embarrassed, about to faint.

" _Dudeuri teni nal deulyeo bonaellae? Gamchwojin seurileul julge."_

 **Keith:** /MUTED!/ ❌🔊

He made the screen go black and silent, trying to not scream through his erratic breathing. A few seconds later the screen was blinking again. He sighed and tapped it, Lance's face showing now. He recoiled his hand quickly, surprised.

"Hey, why did turn that off? I love that song."

Keith was still red and seeing Lance on his screen, sitting in bed shirtless wasn't helping. Lance pouted so he pouted back, crossing his arms.

"You don't even understand that song!" He managed to sputter out.

"Yeah well it's got some English and an awesome beat." Lance shrugged. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Look up the lyrics some time, heathen." He paused and straightened his posture. "How am I even seeing you right now?"

"Pidge and Hunk figured out how to do the whole video calling thing in our rooms too. We can send videos or talk to each other without getting up or using our phones. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, not good for privacy though."

"If you don't answer it you have nothing to worry about. It works just like a call and you accepted mine."

"Oh." Keith dropped his arms. "That's not so bad."

"Speaking of bad, why does your music suck so hard?"

"Shut up." He scolded and looked down. "You don't even know most of my music."

Lance raised an eyebrow and leaned closer to the screen.

"What do you listen to then?"

Keith went over his library in his mind and tried to sum it up.

"I like a lot of 80's stuff. Not all rock, some of the stuff that was popular at the time too. For the current stuff I stick to mostly alternative with some exceptions." He paused and looked back up at Lance who was staring at him with wide eyes through the screen.

"What?" Keith asked, feeling insecure about divulging that information instantly.

"Nothing! I just wasn't expecting that." He said with a small, sheepish grin.

"What were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Like a bunch of emo and punk shit like My Chemical Romance or something."

"Hey! I _do_ like MCR. And most bands associated." He said, offended.

"Oh my god. This relationship is cancelled."

Keith huffed but Lance paused and laughed a bit.

"Keith I'm joking. I would never do that." They both paused and a smirk graced Keith's lips. Lance thought for a moment and tapped his chin.

"You said you had exceptions to your 'cool guy library' rule? Like what?"

"Well… I like Neon Trees. Maroon 5 is okay. I like Twenty-One Pilots even though they are like a hybrid pop/alternative. Things like that."

"Wow. That's actually decent. Maybe you should make me a playlist."

Keith smiled wider and laughed.

"That's like the 21st century version of a mix tape."

"Yeah so?"

Keith laughed louder.

"So that's like a love letter."

"So? I thought you loved me?" He said sounding a little _too_ hurt paired with puppy dog eyes. A+ acting. Those eyes were so blue Keith was starting to forget what his favorite color was. He groaned.

"Fine, god."

"Yeah!" Lance cheered, dropping the pouty act instantly to pump his fist into his side. "Also, your avoidance to actually say it makes me want to hear it that much more.

"Say what?"

"That you love me." He made a kissy face at the screen.

"Lance I swear to god you will be the death of me." Lance just shrugged.

"I'm not gonna say it first so you better man up."

Keith just shook his head.

"Go to sleep."

"Fine!"

The screen went black and disappeared. Keith blinked, surprised it was gone so fast. A few seconds later he heard a knocking at his door. He reluctantly left the warmth of his bed and answered it, finding Lance in nothing but his boxers.

"You can't possibly need something already." He said with a small blush. Lance nodded.

"You bet I do. A goodnight kiss." Keith blushed darker and his eyes went wide, Lance drowning in shades of violet and grey. His mouth went a little dry but he continued. "Do you know how long I've waited for this to be real? I'm not gonna let a second go to waste just in case your change your mind."

Keith didn't have time to tell him that he never would because suddenly their lips were connected and a hand cupped his left cheek. This kiss was different from earlier. It was soft and slow, making the height rise in his neck. Keith, having wanted this for just as long, leaned into the kiss making it that much more intimate. He draped his arms over Lance's shoulders, letting his weight fall onto him. He was melting under his lips and Keith let out a small groan, making Lance hot from his ears to his chest.

Lance pulled back first, not really wanting to but also not wanting to get caught like that in his doorway practically naked. Their eyes met, both of them half-lidded and darkened.

"Was that better?" Lance asked in a whisper, his voice revealing his insecurities and wonder.

"Much." He answered a little breathless. They both smiled to each other but didn't separate their bodies.

"Are… we keeping this lowkey?" Lance asked. Keith stiffened a bit and got butterflies.

"I mean… it might be better that way? Until we figure out what this is?" Keith said, a little unsure. Lance nodded but looked like he had been kicked in the gut. Keith moved his hand to run his fingers through the hairs on the base of Lance's neck, twirling the short brown tuft and sending shivers up Lance's spine.

"I'm not ashamed or embarrassed if that's what you're worried about. I'm pretty sure I want us to be together as much as you do." He paused and Lance's expression went back to lovesick instead of rejected. "It would just give us some privacy for now, ya know?"

"Yeah." He responded softly, arching back into Keith's touch.

"Besides, how fun would it be to see who figures it out first?" Keith smirked. He knew Lance too well. The second anything was turned into a game, he was in.

"I vote Pidge." He said with a smug grin.

"Shiro." Keith challenged and a different spark between them ignited. "Just no giving anything away. The whole point is to NOT have anyone figure it out."

Lance nodded.

"Not until we're both ready. Got it." He smiled and pulled Keith into a heated kiss, running his tongue along the bottom of Keith's lip. He gasped softly and bit Lance's lip in response. Lance whimpered and his heart jumped into his throat. He wanted to jump him so badly but instead he pulled back, a look of shock on his face. Keith smirked through his haze.

"You're not the only one with tricks."

"God I lo-" He stopped himself and shook his head. "Nope! No. I'm not saying it first. You'll have to try harder than that."

"Oh don't worry," Keith leaned close and whispered into his ear. "I can play you like a fiddle."

The heat of his breath consumed the shell of his ear and Lance almost moaned. Keith just chucked and Lance gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Goodnight Keith." He said, barely above a whisper.

"Goodnight Lance."

Lance retreated quickly and Keith let his door slide shut, climbing back into bed and feeling much hotter than before. His phone vibrated a few moments later and he looked down with a laugh.

 **Lance:** You. Are. Evil.

 **Keith:** Then you must love bad boys.

 **Lance:** *rolls eyes in spanish*

They both laughed in their own rooms and found it was both easier and harder to fall asleep. Easier because the no longer had to suffer in silence, no longer guessing. No more hiding from each other. It was harder because of all the possibilities that were ahead for them. Happiness was a funny thing, the way it kept you up at night and make you want to scream into your pillow.

When they did find sleep they dreamt of each other, a blur of darkness and bliss


	4. Chapter 4

The music was a beautiful but foreign symphony. The room was covered in fabrics and shining lights, casting red, purple, and blue shadows and flashes of every color in between. His hips swayed to the music as his feet carried him around the room in circles. He was giddy to the point of embarrassment. The room was a blur of people and he couldn't stop smiling and laughing. His cheeks hurt he was so happy, inebriated on pure joy. His dancing partner asked him a question and he couldn't hear them over the music or see them well either. He asked them to repeat. A familiar voice whispered in his ear.

" _What are you waiting for?_ "

He leaned back and violet eyes came into view paired with thin lips pulled up into a smirk.

Lance jolted awake, sitting upright in bed. His breathing came with difficulty, his mind trying to rationalize that he had been dreaming. The music, the dancing, the husky tone in his voice. It hadn't been real. But those eyes were real. He had kissed those lips before. He's heard whispers like that before. He's danced like that before. With him.

He sighed and looked down at the complete mess of sheets and blankets that trapped his legs, knowing he must have been kicking in his sleep again. Keith was real. They had a forming relationship. And last night, Lance had almost said out loud that he had loved him. He remembered the way Keith's fingers played with his hair, gracing his neck silently. He remembered the way his breath was hot and clung to the shell of his ear. The sincerity and lust in his voice. That had been real. The only thing in that dream that hadn't been real was the dancing scene itself, and the question he asked.

Lance let out a shaky breath edging on hysteric, a smile breaking across his face. Rarely did he dream in Spanish anymore, but this dream had been. And hearing Keith's voice ask that question in his first language did things to him he couldn't explain. He wondered for a moment if he could ever teach Keith Spanish but let the thought fly away with a soft chuckle.

He took his legs out of the covers, like untangling Christmas lights, and stood on the cold floor. He searched for his clothes, up for the day despite never being an early-riser. He would have loved to go back to sleep but the pounding heart in his chest told him it was futile. He found his pants first and zipped them up, letting them hang on his bony hips. He looked around his room for his shirt and he had to admit to himself he wish his were as organized as Keith's had been. It was hard to find anything in this mess or when you couldn't concentrate. He kept thinking of those deep eyes that swallowed his attention like a black hole, or the way his voice flowed through the vowels and his tongue rolled the 'r' so perfectly and short like a fluent speaker. It made him wonder what else his tongue could do.

He told himself to stop it, because it had just been a dream. But damn was it realistic. He sighed and looked to the left corner, seeing a shirt crumpled on the ground. He decided it was good enough and grasped it in his fist, suddenly frustrated.

Lance didn't know how he got where he was, how he got in so deep. At first Keith was an annoyance. He was the reason he had been designated a cargo pilot back at the Garrison. Lance had declared them rivals, especially when Keith left and the spot for fighter pilot was open for him to take. All of that emotional effort and Keith didn't even remember his name when they rescued Shiro. From that moment on, Lance wanted to make sure he never forgot who he was. Through nagging teamwork and patience, they had become more like the rivals Lance saw them as. But then that had moved onto teammates. And then even further to friends.

Now, through all of that, through all of that time with Keith on his mind, he had unknowingly falling in love without a glimmer of a chance at reciprocation. But he had it. He knew now that Keith loved him too in some way. The second Keith kissed him yesterday he couldn't stop thinking about how lucky he was. It was un real, almost too good to be true and that last part nagged at him, eating him away.

He pulled his shirt on, vowing to make his room immaculate again soon, and found his socks and shoes. He left his room and looked towards Keith's, knowing he was probably up for the day. Probably even gone and on the deck or eating breakfast. That didn't stop his feet from carrying him down the hall. That didn't stop his hand from knocking on his door.

"Gimme a minute." A muffled voice came from the otherside, sounding a bit annoyed. Lance's heart skipped a beat, not expecting an answer, let alone a disgruntled one. There was shuffling behind the door before it slid open. When Keith saw it was him at the door, it eyes went wide and his face tightened. Everything from the previous day ran through both of their minds like a stream and they were frozen in time.

"Hi." Keith said finally, a surprised yet happy tone in his voice.

"Hi." Lance said back with a smile. "I thought you'd be out of your room by now."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep well." He said and smirked a bit. "I was too busy thinking about songs."

"Oh." He paused and tried to follow the thought. "Songs for… me?"

"Yeah. The mixtape you wanted."

"Playlist."

"Either way." He rolled his eyes and looked to Lance, seeing that he was dressed and not in pajamas. "You're up early, for you."

"Oh, yeah. Weird dreams." He rubbed the back of his neck. Keith looked curious but dropped the subject, figuring Lance of all people would have expanded if he wanted to talk about it. He stepped out of his room and stood to Lance's side.

"You had breakfast yet?"

"No, you were my first stop."

"Let's go grab some food then. I have a feeling dancing is going to take a lot out of me today."

They shared a smile and walked side by side to the kitchen, running into Hunk and Pidge. As breakfast ensued, so did easy conversation between the four. Lance brought up the new screen tech in the rooms and Pidge got on the bragging train quickly, earning a nudge from Hunk for her to acknowledge all he did too. Hunk steered the conversation towards dancing when that was ending with Pidge patting herself on the back too much. He talked in a very animated way about the progress of everyone. Pidge added in her comments and they were all smiling.

"Wait, where's Shiro?" Lance asked, looking around as if he were silently in the corner.

"Probably with Allura." Pidge smirked with a full mouth. She swallowed and pointed her spoon at Lance. "You know he's gonna ask her to dance with him at the Gala. He's gotten really good too."

"Yeah! I didn't know someone could learn that fast. It's scary. Maybe it was in him all along. Like a born dancer or something." Hunk swallowed his last bits of food and continued. "I am nowhere near as good as he is so Pidge is pulling him from our lessons and putting him with Coran and Allura. He's like in the AP dance group now."

"So, wait. Who's gonna dance with you now?" Lance asked.

"You are." Pidge said as she finished her breakfast. "And I'm gonna take Keith. They'll both get the chance to lead."

"What, why are we switching?" Keith asked, confused.

Pidge looked at him with sympathetic eyes. "No offense, but you're falling behind Lance and Hunk at an alarming rate, considering we've only been dancing for two days. I need to teach you hands-on and help you work out your kinks in your stepping. Plus, you need an opportunity to lead."

Keith opened his mouth to retort or object but shut it with a side glance to Lance. He had to remember to keep what they had low key and that meant he couldn't say he already knew how to lead and that he didn't want to switch partners. He sighed and Lance picked up on his emotions, flowing effortlessly back into the conversation.

"Hey don't worry about it. Pidge is the expert here. She'll have you ballroom dancing like it's second nature in no time." He paused and they met eyes, a small flash of sadness coming across Lance's as he put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You'll do fine."

Breakfast was finished soon enough and the four headed to the training deck, now the dancing deck. Pidge started the music on the screen and Hunk took the lead with Lance. Pidge came to Keith's side but she didn't even catch his eye, his vision too trained on Hunk and Lance, a little jealous that they could move so smoothly already.

"Isn't he doing great?" She smiled and looked to the pair.

"He is." Keith wasn't talking about Hunk. After a few moments of watching the two dance, Pidge took his hand and he looked down. She smiled again, a little more fierce this time, and stepped in front of him.

"Well don't gawk! Show me what you _don't_ got!" Even her eyes smiled at her challenge. He laughed a little as he took her in his arms, taking his place as lead and stepping in time with the music. Keith didn't even last a whole song before she started her string of comments.

"Loosen up." "Dude, where's your passion? You're just walking fancy." "Keith, seriously?"

"Shut up. This is hard for me okay?" He warned through his teeth. He heard laughing and looked up to see Hunk spinning Lance around and dipping him, their eyes meeting when while he was upside down. Lance snuck him a wink and Keith turned red. It lasted only a split second but it was risky to do in front of two of five people they didn't want to inform. Unless Lance was trying to win the bet, which was entirely possible.

"Try a spin." She said cheerfully and he looked down, uncertain. "Seriously. Spin me out, back in, and dip. You totally got this."

The corners of his mouth twitched and they moved around much more like a one minded entity. Like he had with Lance. He knew he could do it, he had before. In one fluid movement, he spun Pidge away from him, gripping her hand a little harder when she leaned back at her limit and spun her back into him. He moved one step and dipped her while supporting her small frame easily. She weighed maybe 100 pounds soaking wet so dipping her low, holding it longer than necessary, and bringing her back up in another small spin was an easy task. He looked to her with a slightly smug expression but mostly reserved. She laughed and her cheeks turned pink.

"That was excellent! I have no critiques." She paused. "Have you done this before?"

He just smiled. "Oh, um. I guess I learn better when moving." He looked to Lance for just a fraction of a second, seeing him staring back.

"Hunk, did you see that?"

"For the hundredth time, no. I'm not watching them dance, I'm busy leading you!" Hunk said, a little irritated. Lance pouted.

"Sorry man. Just… wow she's good."

"He's getting some awesome tips from the blur of black I've been seeing." He chuckled a bit.

"Okay yeah, but Keith just dipped her inches from the floor like it was nothing." He didn't know it but he was smiling.

"Dude, Pidge _weighs_ nothing. I have literally had to carry her away from a fight before."

Lance laughed and nodded, remembering it all too well, including the red face Shiro had when Pidge had confronted him. Tough little cookie.

"Well, anyway, you're an awesome lead. Not a step missed." He said to Hunk.

"And I dipped you like an expert, you failed to mention." Hunk smiled and Lance echoed, it was contagious.

"Sorry buddy. You did amazing but let's face it, you're built. You dipped Shiro."

"Can't lie, these muscles were made with love."

They both laughed and Keith's head snapped towards them. Pidge noticed.

"Keith, what's wrong?"

"Hm?" He looked down at her and was confused again, being pulled from his thoughts too quickly.

"You keep looking at them and doing that pouty, scrunchy thing you do when you're annoyed. What's going on?" She waited patiently for an answer as they moved slowly around the training deck. He couldn't say he was jealous, which he was. He couldn't say he wanted his dance partner back, even though he did. He weighed his options and chose to turn the conversation back onto her.

"I'm just wondering how you're going to dance at the Gala with someone so tall."

It took her a moment. Her brain screeched to a halt and her face went bright red. She stopped dancing and stared him in the eye, daring him to say another word.

"He's only a few inches taller than you." She almost growled. He smirked down at her.

"I bet you have the most beautiful dress picked out. He likes green on you."

"Shut up right now or I swear to god I will kill you." She whisper-screamed at him. He couldn't help but laugh loudly at her, his laugh echoing throughout the deck and making Lance look over at him yet again.

"What do you think she said? He's laughing so hard he's almost crying." He asked as he spun around with Hunk, not taking his eyes off Keith.

"You know Pidge. She probably tried to threaten him and I'm sorry but no one has anything on Keith. He's for sure not scared of her. I am, but that's beside the point."

Lance made a small "Mm" noise to agree and end the conversation. After a moment or two Pidge made an announcement, her face deep red.

"Alright, you're doing fine. Lance you can have him, there's no hope for him." Keith was trying not to laugh behind her as she stormed over to the other pair and all but pushed Lance to the side. She took Hunk as her partner and Lance made his way to Keith. He wrapped his hands on his body easily and took the lead, spinning Keith around the room.

As they danced, Keith felt calmer and moved much better with Lance than with Pidge. It had nothing to do with height, it was who his partner was. Lance spun him out and back in wordlessly, their bodies in perfect sync. Keith smiled wide and Lance dipped him, laughing as he looked down at him. He tilted Keith back up but kept his hand on the small of his back. It was comforting but also it turned him into unstable high octane.

"Shouldn't your hand be a little higher?" Keith asked, his pupils large with amusement.

"Nah. I want you as close as possible." Lance said with a red face and slipped his hand lower, just above his ass. Keith felt a chill run down his spine.

"Lance. We're not alone." He said in a hushed tone.

"You did some awesome spins earlier. Not gonna lie, I'm impressed." Lance said, dodging the subject.

"Oh, you were watching?" He grinned.

"Of course I was! You and Pidge moved so awkwardly, how could I not?"

"Hunk must not have been able to corral your attention, even though you were laughing half the time."

Lance looked disgusted. "Okay, glossing over the fact that you just said 'corral', which we will come back to, why were you and Pidge fighting?"

"Oh I just mentioned that you guys looked awesome." He said innocently. "Then she caught me staring too much and started asking questions so naturally I had to divert her attention from us and poked fun at her crush on Hunk."

"Bro, low blow." Lance said and shook his head, both of them laughing a bit. Keith shrugged.

"She's tough, she can take it. Besides, I'd rather her focus on her own feelings than mine." He said and the air between them changed. They continued to dance but didn't take their eyes off each other, like they were the only ones in the room, enjoying the music and the pure joy of just being with each other in that moment. What brought them out of their puppy love world was a blaring alarm that was quickly followed by a loud blast that shook the castle so hard all four of them fell to the ground. Keith broke Lance's fall but there was no time for a thank you. Allura's voice was blaring through the COM, her panic palpable.

"Paladins! Get to your lions immediately! We need Voltron!"


	5. Chapter 5

Keith was accustomed to panic and fear. It had visited him often in the desert and even more often out in space, drifting through the universe. In battle, however, it revitalized him. He used Allura's urgency to fuel his actions; he was task driven while his mind made 40 plans of action all at once. He didn't even realize where he was until he heard Shiro over his com. He was already in his lion, out of the ship with everyone else. Daring to be before them was the smallest fleet of galra ships yet.

Unlike fighter fleets and battleships, these ships were sleek, dark as night, and equipped with cannons that were larger than the familiar ion ones. They looked ridiculous on such a tiny ship in comparison, but it was an unknown weapon and that was enough to set everyone on edge. Everyone except Keith.

"Before we come together, we need to see what those things can do. We should split up and scatter their fire." Shiro's voice echoed in his helmet.

The castle of lions had only taken one shot and it severely damaged the particle barrier, even after all the upgrades Coran had made to the engineering. Rationally, he knew that it was best to stay safe and destroy whatever the Galra had sent their way. If it could cut through the castle like that, he could only imagine what it could to do any of them individually without Voltron.

"The castle defenses are already down! We know what it can do!" Pidge pointed out.

"Yeah, let's just take them out Voltron style, bring back one of the cannons to examine, and then we're home safe and sound!" Hunk sputtered franticly.

"That's all fine and dandy, but there's more of them than us," Lance interjected, making Keith's heart skip a beat. "They have this tech and they had the cajones to send just a small amount of it. They need to go down Shiro."

There was a tense silence until Pidge and Hunk agreed. They flew in separate directions: Pidge and Hunk one way, Lance and Keith the other, and Shiro down the middle. Their flight coordination had become less individualized and more like it was planned ahead of time despite the surprise, a reward from teamwork and months of relentless fighting. In what felt like minutes the team had taken down the whole fleet without assistance from Allura and Coran. With one ship left, Hunk flew forward and ripped the cannon off before Shiro sliced through it with the black lion's jawblade. There wasn't much time for celebration. The threat of more ships lingering in the distance was too great.

Once onboard with the cannon and all hangar doors closed, the castle disappeared by teleduv into a new and secluded nebula far on the outskirts of the Galra empire. When it was finally quiet, everyone met in the yellow lion's hangar, taking their first close look at the cannon.

It was very similar to those that were once on the Balmera, though smaller with a much more elaborate shape. There were five diamonds to form one large shape, and 3 very small triangles at the meeting point of the diamonds to create a sort of triangle within a star.

"Woah." Pidge said in awe.

"Yeah that was way harder to carry in than I thought. It's almost as big as my lion!" Hunk lamented while everyone looked at the design. There was something about the soft purple glow still emanating from the shape, even though it was deactivated.

"Why does it look so familiar?" Lance asked as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"It looks like an upgraded form of the mining defense cannons," Shiro commented, hands on hips.

"No, it's more than that," Allura said, looking at the shape. "It actually has quintessence. Real living energy, untampered or altered. Its… unique." Her hand came forward, feeling the life run around her fingers.

"It's not just that. It's the fibonacci pattern. Hunk, look!" Pidge said, grabbing his arm and pointing at the shapes. "Look at the diamonds. It's like petals. Fibonacci Five." Hunk nodded and was a little taken aback at it. "Then add in the little petals. Fibonacci Eight!"

Lance whispered over to Keith and Shiro, "You guys getting any of this?" To which they both shook their heads.

"Add that in the the metal circle surrounding it all and you have a mock up of the flower of life, just with five instead of six petals." Hunk added.

"Which proves all theories on earth that math is a complete universal language!" She smiled and they both high-fived each other.

"Uh, guys?" Keith interrupted.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. There is a theory that all shapes and forms created are actually just tangible manifestations of intricate mathematics. Nature is a key staple, but it's also been found in computer codes, galaxies, and even tech like this. It all repeats itself."

"So…" Lance said, rolling his hand for Pidge to get to the English part. She sighed.

"The universe is ruled by math." She deadpanned.

"While that's extremely interesting, what can it actually do? If the Princess can sense its quintessence, I feel like it's not properly destroyed and should be disposed of, despite the wonderful discovery you've made," Coran suggested. "I'm sorry, Number Five."

"No." Allura paused and looked to Coran. "Pidge and Hunk surely can study it and figure out how this… large mathematical weapon works. If they run into any walls, I'm sure Keith and Shiro can help them get past any Galra safety measures. And Lance can run sonic scans and help with the dismantling. It's a good team exercise and an even better way for us to learn about what might be coming for us."

"So… no more dancing?" Lance asked a little too sadly.

"We can manage both. I'm sure we've all got enough practice under our belts to miss one day."

"Guess I've got to move my lab here." Pidge blew the spare hairs out of her face and turned to Hunk. "Help me move it all?"

"Sure!"

"Shiro, will you help me find out where exactly they were sent from?" Allura asked, lightly drained from the long teleduv travel.

He simply nodded and left with her and Coran. Pidge and Hunk left out towards the green lion's hangar, with Keith and Lance alone. Keith was finally able to let out a breath and step closer to Lance, who was still staring at the cannon with a burning hatred. He smiled and ran his fingers through Lance's hair, making him lose some of that fire.

"Don't like huge, mysterious, mathematical abominations?" Keith asked, a small smile tugging at his lips. Lance leaned into Keith's touch but didn't take his eyes off the weapon.

"It's a giant death lotus Keith. I feel like it's staring at me."

"Is that your Mexican third eye talking, or are you just scared?"

"Okay first off, I'm Cuban, not Mexican. Although I'm pretty sure it's still a thing. Second, the last time I thought something was staring at me it turned out to be ⅕ of the universe's savior. So yes, it scares me." He moved his head away from Keith's fingers and looked him in they eye. "You're telling me that the guy who thinks Bigfoot is real can't feel that lotus? That it's alive somehow? Even Allura said it had its own force."

Keith just shrugged and Lance let out an exasperated sigh.

"I will be happy to take that thing apart, just to make sure it's dead. It gives me the heebie jeebies." He shuddered as they began to walk out of the hangar. "Like when that stupid crystal took over the castle."

"If the castle tries to kill you again, at least we're not likely to get separated." Keith patted him on the back and Lance crossed his arms.

"Not encouraging, babe." He looked back at the Galra lotus once more before leaving. "I hope Voltron is good at math."

* * *

Keith had smirked and even goaded Lance when he showed fear of the Galran Lotus, as everyone was now calling it. But right now… right now he was terrified. Right now, his hand was burning and his flesh was peeling away to reveal light purple skin. The fissures climbed up his arm and he felt the temperature of his insides drop below freezing. The glow from the lotus was getting brighter and brighter until the cracks and peeling skin ran so far up his shoulder that his face was effected, making his midnight irises disappear into stark white. His hand was fused onto the surface of one petal, as if the lotus were pulling him in. He tried to free himself but with each struggle his hand sank through the surface, like a lake trying to actively drown a victim. He was screaming for help, biting his tongue with the pain. When the white hot feeling reached both eyes and became unbearable, he finally woke up, sitting straight up in bed.

He was drenched in sweat, covers on the ground, and the hilt on his knife gripped so that the tip of the blade was pointed toward his elbow like a professional killer. It was instinct to grasp his knife in the night, but that was not a grip he was used to using. He dropped the knife onto the bed, trying to take deep breaths. When his senses started to return, there was a small red screen in front of him about the size of a sticky note that read '4 Unaccepted Connections'. He signed, his breath steady, and straightened himself, searching through who had tried to call him. It was Lance. 1:04a, 1:12a, 1:19a, and finally 1:47a. He glanced to the screen corner and it read 2:23a. He looked down and huffed, opening a channel to call Lance back. He picked up after two rings. His face was immediately on the screen, worried yet reserved.

"Are you okay?" He burted out. Keith nodded.

"Just a bad dream." He rubbed the back of his head and stifled a yawn, not wanting to go back to sleep immediately. "'Sup with you? You called me four times."

"I could hear you grunting and kind of yelling through my wall," He admitted and looked away. "I thought you might have been training in your room, but that seemed stupid. Then you started screaming 'no' and I was so freaking worried." He made eye contact with Keith again. "I almost broke into your room."

Keith looked down at his knife."I'm glad you didn't. I might have attacked you in my sleep." He sighed and flexed his hand. "I'm sorry about the whole Galra Lotus thing. I thought it was a bunch of horseshit, but I can feel it now. Even though I'm awake."

"What?" Lance asked even more concerned. Keith was silent for a little while. He stuffed his knife under his pillow and looked back up.

"Just… can you come over?"

Lance nodded softly, not used to the request. "Gimmie a tick."

And with that the screen went black. Keith leaned over and picked up the sheet and thin blanket just to toss them at the end of the bed in the corner.

"Lights, 20%. Unlock door," he said in a calm voice. He was growing too used to voice commands of practically every part of the castle. Something he would miss when he got back to Earth. If he got back to… he tried to shake the thought as Lance knocked on his door.

"It's open," he said simply and sat on the edge of the bed. Lance slid in silently and sat next to Keith, resting his heels on the edge of the bed rail to elevate his knees slightly. He waited for Keith to say what he needed to say, or try at least. As the silence stretched on, so did his concern. Just as he turned to ask him anything to start the conversation, Keith pulled him in tightly.

"Whoa, hey," Lance said, his arms raised to look down at Keith who was holding onto him for dear life. He didn't respond, just buried his face into Lance's old shirt. After the initial shock, Lance's arms came around him and held him until he was ready. Lance was a talker. Keith? Not so much.

"I got you, babe," He murmured into his hair, earning just the slightest of nods. His hands rubbed soft circles into Keith's back, trying to help him relax. It made his heart race more but in a way that distracted him from his nightmare. Keith sighed into the fabric and let go, coming back up to meet Lance's eyes.

"Thanks," he said softly before sitting on the edge again.

Lance cocked his head to the side and gave him a kiss on the forehead which said more than words. A hint of a smile nipped at Keith's lips for just a second when he motioned for Lance to lay down with him. As soon as Lance's head hit the pillow, he explained the nightmare to him, including how he woke up.

"Oh man," he said with wide eyes. "That's messed up!" He paused as Keith nodded.

"Yeah and I can still feel it. It feels like…" He paused and tried to think of the best description. "It's like being stalked or like knowing you're on surveillance."

"Exactly!" Lance said a little too loud, making Keith flinch. He continued, a tad quieter, "That's how I felt when in front of that thing."

"You were right and I'm sorry." Keith looked down and shivered, feeling the creeping sensation again. "I can feel it from so far away because I'm part Galra. That's the only explanation. And I don't know what it wants with me."

The frown that was plastered onto Keith's lips made Lance worry. He scooted closer and grabbed the covers.

"Roll over. I'm staying the night."

Keith didn't fight it at all. He didn't want to be alone. Keith reached under his pillow and tossed the knife across the room, rolling over. Lance covered them both up and pressed his chest against Keith's back, his arm slung around his waist. Keith felt safe like this, even with the eyes of the lotus in his mind. He would figure it all out later, right now he needed sleep and Lance was willing to give him that. The gift made Keith smile as he settles back into his bed, drifting off in no time.


	6. Chapter 6

The boys woke up to Shiro banging on Keith's door. Lance almost cursed at him before Keith covered his mouth. Lance had momentarily forgotten what hearing him in Keith's room would imply. Not that either of them cared, it just wasn't time for either of them to tell yet.

"Keith? Did you hear me?" Shiro asked through the door. Keith panicked, not wanting him to come in.

"Yeah, I'll meet you guys down there." His voice cracked and he stayed frozen until he heard an answer from Shiro and his boots walking away. He sighed with relief and let his head fall back onto his pillow, his brain trying to calm down.

Lance took Keith's hand off his mouth dramatically like he couldn't breathe and scowled at him.

"Rude."

Keith rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that, you almost blew our cover."

Lance signed and plopped back down on the bed, not caring if his arms covered Keith.

"How much GAC did we bet anyway?"

Keith shook with silent laughter and ruffled Lance's hair. "Not enough I guess or I would have sold us down the river already. I need a few things that I missed at the mall."

"What could you have possibly seen at a mall that you want to buy?"

"There was a really nice leather sheath there and it came with a back strap. Super convenient and not exactly heavy or bulky. There was also this weird iridescent thing that kind of looked like a butterfly knife? I don't know but I want it-"

He was cut off by Lance's lips. Nothing heated, just a wonderful and tender kiss. He pulled back and gave him a pointed look.

"I don't know why you feel the need to continue the 'bad boy' charade. You're nothing but a little emo kid who needs love."

Keith laughed again and looked up at the ceiling. "Because it annoys the hell out of you. But also, I'm trying to discourage you. It's not a bet to win."

Lance was quiet for a moment while he rearranged his limbs, cradling Keith in his arms contently. "I guess…" he started, feeling a little nervous. "I guess I just don't know why were hiding."

"Because it's been all of two days between the team thinking you and I were gonna kill each other to cuddling in my bed." He said flatly.

"But doesn't this feel great?" Lance asked giving him a little hug. "We're talking, we're not fighting, we get to tease each other without any malicious intentions-"

"Ooh, $10 words. Have you been using Pidge's dictionary?" Keith teased. Lance's face went sour.

"I'm serious Keith." He paused and let his features soften. "Doesn't this feel… _right_? Like, this is how it's supposed to be between us?"

He thought about it and nodded. "It feels too good to be true. Which is exactly why I don't want to say anything. If we do it's bound to fall apart."

"You're such an idiot." Lance grumbled and let go of him.

"Excuse me?" Keith turned in bed to look at him. Lance was at a loss for words for a moment before sputtering out an argument.

"So, with your dumbass logic, if I told Hunk that you were my boyfriend, the universe would split us apart. Something, somewhere, would make me break up with you."

"That's my fear, and 99.9% of the time, it's true."

"It's bullshit. That's bullshit. You and me have wanted each other for months, man. Months. And you think a 4 minute conversation is going to end all of that? You're an idiot." Lance shook his head and climbed out of the bed.

"Dude, we're fighting about it right now! Can't you see? The universe fucking hates me!" Keith said, motioning between them and sitting on the side of the bed.

"No, the universe is indifferent to you. I, on the other hand, fucking love you, and you can't take that as guarantee that this won't go to shit!" Lance said and folded his arms. "I'm only in here because last night you-"

"What did you just say?" Keith cut him off.

Lance paused and raised an eyebrow. "That nothing bad is gonna happen between us."

"No. You said you love me."

Lance went wide eyed and silent.

"You said you, quote, 'fucking love me'."

Keith stood and came up to him, smiling smugly. Lance broke his own rule. But to him, that didn't matter right now.

"Yeah! I fucking love you, despite how stupid you're being! So cut out all the bullshit and tell me if this is worth our time or if you are just waiting for an out!" His tone was angry but his face was embarrassed and red as it had ever been. Keith came even closer and ran his thumb over Lance's cheekbone. He wanted to tug away but he also wanted an answer.

"Lance, I love you too. I'm scared, terrified, that I am going to lose you, but I love you anyway. I'm all in."

Lance dropped his arms. "Really? All in? No fear?"

"One fear."

Lance waited and then he smiled and laughed. "Oh my god, you memeing piece of trash."

They both laughed and Keith came into his arms, kissing him softly through laughs. Lance pulled back and Keith raised an eyebrow.

"So, I'm your boyfriend, huh?"

"Mmmm… maybe more like a cuddle buddy?" Lance tried.

"No. You said boyfriend. You said you wanted to tell _Hunk_ , and by association _everyone_ , that I am your _boyfriend_."

"Well, are you?" He paused and they both turned red again. "Are we?"

"I mean," Keith hesitated. "I haven't taken you on a proper date and boyfriend is super middle-school. But yeah, you can be my boyfriend."

"We're in this together. We are each other's boyfriends." Lance laughed.

Keith wanted to say something snarky but instead kissed him again with heat this time. Lance was instantly distracted and melting into him, unable to think of something good enough to say to interrupt this wonderful, neck-prickling kiss. Keith smiled into the kiss and slowly slid his lips from that goofy smile to the corner of his lips, down to worship Lance's sharp jawline, and going just below his ear, gnashing against his skin. Lance made a noise that was both a whimper and a plea. Keith hummed, kissed his bruised skin, and pulled back.

"We should stop before we can't." He said with a sheepish smile and Lance was barely there. He nodded and swallowed.

"I mean... I passed that point a while ago but hey, that's okay." He said and they both laughed.

"On a more serious note, we need to go down to the yellow hangar. Well, I do. You have to go get into Blue and get those scans running."

Lance nodded. "I'm ready to kill the Lotus, that's for sure. Even if it did get me into your bed in a roundabout way."

Keith cringed and looked up to the ceiling. "Okay universe, this is what, a trial?"

Lance pushed him playfully and he smiled.

* * *

Everyone met in the yellow hangar except for Lance and Allura. Everyone, however, was in their armor, the best link they had the time. With the coms open and Lance situated perfectly towards the yellow hangar, Allura's voice crackled over the com.

"As I said earlier, The blue lion will likely put us out of power for a few ticks but as long as our link stays established, we won't lose the information. Is everyone ready?"

An echo of agreements came through and Allura figuratively turned to Lance. "On your count."

"Okay people, going dark in three," he grabbed the controls at his side. "Two." He tensed himself. "One!" He pushed forward and Blue started the sonic scan just as the power was drawn out of the castle. The good news was the crystals helped the detail of the scan, the bad news was that they were out of power longer than they thought. When Lance was done, the lights hadn't come back on. He looked to the scan and sent it over to Allura, their mental link with Blue strong enough to transmit the most information.

"Allura, you got it?"

"Yes," she responded, starting to hover, "but I can't pull it up properly for Pidge until the power comes back."

"You can still send them out to us. Better to start with something." Pidge interjected and Shiro agreed. Allura sent everyone the information. They all brought the small version of the 3D diagnostic from their wrist.

"Okay, phase one completed. Now to try and figure out this thing's weak spots." Pidge looked up at the lotus and shuddered. "Lance, you on the way?"

"Yeah, just had to tell Blue how much I love her and how good of a job she did. Also I needed to give the bayard back to Allura." He said, using his jet pack to get to the bridge in the wake of gravity loss.

"Hurry up man, I wanna torch this thing." Hunk said and crossed his arms.

"Trust me, I get it." He said and thought of how uncomfortable Keith must be right now as he rounded the corner.

* * *

When the hangar doors opened for him, the flood of his team talking and the low hum of Yellow couldn't drown out the feeling that the Lotus was sucking all the warmth out of the room. It was stale and dark, just blue lights on the walls and their own gear to light the way. He entered cautiously, coming behind Keith and Shiro, putting an arm on each of them to stop himself.

"How'd I do?" He asked and Shiro turned with a small smile. Keith held up the 3D map to Lance and he leaned in closer.

"Good enough for us to start with." Keith said, still examining it closely.

Shiro nodded. "We can use this until anything stronger than the auxiliary power comes back. After that, Allura is going to use the castle's scans combined with yours and send Pidge a perfect blueprint. Then the real work begins."

"I just zoomed, like, two miles to get here and we can't do anything?" He crossed his arms.

"Seems that way." Shiro shrugged and floated toward the others. Keith came closer as Shiro left and enlarged the scan from his wrist. Lance held onto Keith's shoulder with both hands.

"From what you gave us, we can get inside through here," He pointed at a small red area at the base. "It's kind of like a maintenance hatch. Other than that, we've got nothing spectacular."

"How does that help then?"

"Because now we know how to get in without destroying it but we don't know what's behind that door."

"I am more than happy to tear that thing apart," Lance huffed.

"I won't stop you. But Allura will. She wants to preserve it as best we can. Don't ask me why."

They fell quiet and Lance tapped the side of his helmet to turn off his com. Keith did the same.

"This has to be awful for you. I can feel that thing, almost like its inside me. How are you doing?" Lance asked with genuine care.

"It's pretty bad. About as bad as that nightmare last night, only it's real." He paused and glared the Lotus down. "Worst part is that, as far as I can tell, Shiro and I are the only ones who can actually get in there. Guess who it's gonna be?"

"Keith, you don't have to do that. I can vouch for you how horrible that thing has already been to you. You can trust the team to believe you. Shiro can go-"

"I've already said yes." He cut Lance off and turned to see his face drop in disbelief. "Something is in there and I need to know what. I need to see it with my own eyes so that I'm not asking myself 'what if' the rest of my life. This has as much to do with myself as it does the war. I have to know, Lance." His features turned soft and those violet eyes were actually asking permission despite his words.

Lance sighed and put a hand on his wrist, making the 3D holo disappear. "If it hurts you and you survive, I'll kill you."

Keith smiled a bit and Lance softened too. Just as the conversation ended a loud humming began and the lights came on in at a blinding level. Gravity kicked on a tick later and everyone but Allura and Coran found themselves on the floor. Lance smashed on top of Keith, Pidge sitting on Shiro's chest, and Hunk flat on his back.

"Are we ever going to get used to this?" Hunk groaned as he sat up.

"Probably not." Pidge said and laughed at Shiro, holding a hand out to him.

Keith and Lance scrambled to get up, but did eventually untangle themselves.

"Yes, thank you gravity!" Lance smiled and Keith grinned. They both turned their coms back on.

"Okay Allura, phase two is all yours. Everything working up there?" Lance asked, not wanting to do that again.

"Yes!" She paused and motioned. "Coran, come look at this."

The two on the bridge looked over the compiled and complete scan and it was both immensely detailed, and terrifyingly vague.

"No." "I'm not sure." "That can't…"

"Um, Allura? We can't hear Coran." Shiro jumped in.

"No need, I'm sending the finished product down to Pidge."

Sure enough, a tick later there was a beeping coming from Pidge's laptop. She raced over to answer the little red flashing light.

"Aw, you used my network! I'm touched." She said as her little fingers assaulted the keyboard.

"It honestly was a brilliant idea, even if it was for silly purposes." She laughed. "We're coming down. This deserves a face to face talk."

Lance turned to Keith. "I hate the sound of that."

Keith just nodded and watched Pidge at her laptop.


End file.
